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GE-015-089, Change in GE Credit for IGE Program

CALIFORNIASTATEPOLYTECHNICUNIVERSITY, POMONA

ACADEMIC SENATE

GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

REPORT TO

THE ACADEMIC SENATE

GE-015-089

Change in GE Credit forIGE 223 and IGE 224 Program

General Education CommitteeDate:3/3/09

Executive Committee

Received and ForwardedDate:3/4/09

Academic SenateDate:7/29/09

First Reading

BACKGROUND:

(Provide background on the need for this referral and how it will benefit the University. Clearly state the expected outcome(s) or action(s) requested)

The department is proposing thatcompletion of the IGE program result in credit for EITHER GE D3 and E (the current credit) OR GE D3 and A3 (new proposal).

Rationale for Proposed Change:The IGE program was founded by philosophy faculty, and has always had Critical Thinking as a primary student learning outcome. Many future students will take a First Year Experience course for Area E, so this change will enable such students to still receive 8 courses of GE credit for the 8 courses in the IGE program. IGE is a small program, with 91 students completing the program in AY 08-09. IGE does not map 1-to-1 onto GE content areas; only by completing the IGE program will students earn the proposed D3 and A3 GE credit.

RESOURCES CONSULTED:

Nancy Fernandez, Chair, IGE

Liliane Fucaloro, Chair, English

Judy Miles, Chair, Philosophy

Steve Bryant, Interim Chair, IGE

RECOMMENDATION:

The committee voted unanimously to support GE-015-089, Change in GE credit for IGE Program, 7-0-0.

Critical thinking is infused throughout the IGE Program. Outlines for IGE 120 (the first course in the program), and IGE 223 and 224, the last two courses in the program, are below. Outlines for the other 5 IGE courses are available upon request.

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Interdisciplinary General Education Department

IGE 120 – Consciousness and Community

Prepared by: Ken Stahl and Hend Gilli-Elewy

Date prepared: May 23, 2007

Expanded Course Outline

  1. Catalogue Description

IGE 120 – Consciousness and Community (4)

First knowings; origin of consciousness, myth, symbol, performance, and ceremony; prehistory and patterns of living, making of meaning; university experience. 4 Lecture/discussion. Activity fee may be required. Pre-requisite: Eligibility for ENG 104 (with or without ENG 002 as a corequisite)

  1. Required Background or Experience

Eligibility for ENG 104 (with or without ENG 002 as a corequisite).

IGE 120,121 and 122 are designed for first-year students. Students should seek advisement on selection of the General Education pattern best matched to their major and goals.

  1. Expected Outcomes

A. Rationale: IGE first-year courses are particularly well suited to satisfy FYE, because IGE’s learning outcomes already fulfill the FYE outcomes. IGE’s mission statement is: “IGE provides an outstanding interdisciplinary undergraduate general education experience that prepares students to lead globally conscious, socially responsible, productive, satisfying and ethical lives in a changing, diverse world.” IGE’s philosophy and program goals emphasize providing students with a supportive learning community which fosters the ability to make original connections and appreciate complex interrelationships. Within this learning community students explore human experience from a variety of perspectives and practice creative, learner-centered pedagogy that integrates teaching, learning, service and research.

The completion of the first-year IGE sequence will satisfy FYE and will earn GE credit in Areas A2 and any two of C1, C2 or C3 as per the CPP catalogue.

B. FYE Outcomes and Corresponding IGE Learning Outcomes.

By completing this course, students will:

1. Demonstrate a commitment to and a responsibility for their own education.

Students will:

  1. define their own goals as learners and assume, with confidence and understanding, responsibility for their own learning.
  2. be able to design and sustain projects to achieve their goals both as individuals and as group member.
  3. serve both as learners and as instructors, developing ideas and approaches that advance the collective understanding of the group.
  4. be able to recognize themselves as authors of their own learning and as autonomous seekers of knowledge

2. Understand the relationship of their education to their personal and professional development.

Students will:

  1. know how to elucidate ethical dilemmas in ordinary life situations, as well as in political, social, philosophical, and aesthetic issues.
  2. be able to recognize and critically examine the implications of their actions and speech, both as citizens of a community and as future members of professional disciplines.
  3. show an awareness of the ambiguity of human experience, and understanding of the incompleteness of knowledge, of any one point of view

3. Develop the skills to work cooperatively in diverse communities and build a strong support network of faculty, staff, and peers.

Students will:

  1. join a learning community of students and instructors who read, discuss, and study together. They will develop close friendships and a strong sense of community and belonging, giving continuity to their college experience.
  2. participate in curricular and co-curricular activities with faculty, staff and students.
  3. be aware of the multiplicity of cultures around the world and recognize the integrity of different world views and cultural systems.
  4. be able to explain how a particular cultural form connects to a larger pattern of beliefs or values, and how it compares to cultural forms of other societies.
  5. be able to define the nature of racism, ethnocentrism, and stereotyping.
  6. Be able articulate a concept of civic virtue with respect to the welfare of a learning community and to recognize how their level of involvement in the community affects the quality of their own learning and the learning others.

4. Develop information literacy skills to enhance their academic and personal success.

Students will:

  1. be able to access needed information effectively and efficiently in electronic as well as physical formats.
  2. be able to critically evaluate information into their knowledge base and value system.
  3. understand and follow the principles of academic integrity with respect of information sources, and appreciate the economic, legal, social, and ethical issues surrounding the use of information

5. Develop an appreciation of intellectual inquiry.

Students will:

  1. engage in exploring major concepts, articulating and developing their ideas clearly and persuasively.
  2. be able to identify critical issues and use appropriate evidence for developing ideas in written and oral modes of communication.
  3. challenge accepted or established positions and to provide well-reasoned support for their won original ideas and arguments.
  4. generate original questions, connections, and interpretations, integrating diverse sources of information, evaluating knowledge claims on the basis of evidence and independent reasoning.

6. Department will demonstrate a commitment to and a responsibility for students’ success. The Department will:

  1. offer appropriate GE advising.
  2. provide students with a variety of advising materials explaining how IGE fulfills GE requirements as well as IGE’s provisions for AP credit and Major GE support courses.
  3. introduce students to programs, services, and resources on campus.
  4. create a strong community between students and faculty by means of interactively exploring ideas and experiences across disciplinary boundaries.
  5. collaborate with students’ Major departments to ensure appropriate disciplinary and professional advising.
  1. Instructional Materials

IGE 120 Reader.

IGE Guidebook.

Mason, Herbert (translator),Gilgamesh.

Berger, John,Ways of Seeing.

Hansberry, Lorraine, A Raisin in the Sun.

Hacker, Diane, A Pocket Style Manual.

Pinter, Harold, Mountain Language.

  1. Minimum Student Materials

Assigned texts, notepaper, and other usual student materials with the option of using divergent, multi-media and computer modes in the development of portfolio projects and presentations.

  1. Minimum College Facilties

A classroom with moveable desks and ability to access visual aids, VCR and DVD equipment, PC and projector.

  1. Course Outline
  1. Orientation to the university experience.
  1. Explorations of prehistoric sites and peoples.
  1. Making of meaning, Issues in Interpretation.
  1. Exploring the Visual Arts as reflection of cultures.
  1. First stories, ritual, performance and ceremonies, myths and mythic thinking.
  1. Instructional Methods

Interactive approaches which require student responsibility for learning, including small group discussion, group and individual projects, and independent activities.

  1. Evaluation of Outcomes
  1. Evaluation of students is based on:
  1. Two 4-5 page long papers which are an extended inquiry integrating class discussions and readings.
  2. Daily written responses to assigned readings.
  3. In class participation.
  4. Small-group, collaborative research project including presentation and paper presentations based on themes of class.
  5. A portfolio of written work.
  6. Participation in arts events.
  1. Assessment of learning outcomes is based on:
  1. Student self-evaluation, at the beginning and at the end of the quarter.
  2. Exit interviews.
  3. Questionnaire to determine if stated educational outcomes were met, giving students the opportunity to describe what they learned in class and to suggest how the course might be improved.
  4. Review of student portfolios.

CALIFORNIASTATEPOLYTECHNICUNIVERSITY, POMONA

Interdisciplinary General Education Department

IGE 223 – Ways of Living: The Contemporary World (4)

Prepared by: Kenneth Stahl

Date Prepared: November 10, 2007

EXPANDED COURSE OUTLINE

  1. CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION

IGE 223 – Ways of Living: The Contemporary World (4)

Explorations of environmental epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics; environmental education and responsibility; communities and cultures engaging sustainable practices; global thinking and doing; global citizenship and justice. Inquiries are historically grounded in the modern and postmodern worlds. 4 Lecture/discussion. Prerequisite: IGE 222. Activity fee may be required.

  1. REQUIRED BACKGROUND OR EXPERIENCE

IGE 222.

  1. EXPECTED OUTCOMES

By completing this course, students will:

Meet the learning outcomes of the IGE Program, which include communication skills and critical thinking, development of historical and social consciousness, multicultural understanding, appreciation of aesthetic experiences, and information literacy, and integration of knowledge and experience through active student learning.

Articulate multiple responses to the question “What is environmental education?”

Become aware of the ecological understanding of cultures which practice sustainable living.

Understand environmental ethics, wisdom, and responsibility.

Be able to analyze and critique issues, especially environmental issues, in the contexts of globalism and justice; be able to separate issues of fact from issues of judgment and opinion.

Understand global citizenship and its responsibilities, including advocacy.

  1. INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

IGE 223 Anthology: Ways of Living: The Contemporary World.

Callenbach, Earnest. Ecology: A Pocket Guide. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.

  1. MINIMUM STUDENT MATERIALS

Assigned texts, notepaper, and other usual student materials with the option of using divergent multi-media and computer modes in the development of portfolio projects and presentations.

  1. MINIMUM COLLEGE FACILITIES

A classroom with moveable desks and ability to access visual aids, VCR and DVD equipment, PC and projector.

  1. COURSE OUTLINE

1.Orientation to the themes and purposes of IGE 223.

2.Environmental education.

3.Cultural consciousness and the environment: sustainable living.

4.Ethics of care; responsibilities.

5.Environmental wisdom: California case studies.

6.Globalism and the environment; environmental justice.

7.Global citizenship and its responsibilities.

  1. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

Interactive approaches which require student responsibility for learning, including small group discussions, group and individual projects, and independent activities.

  1. EVALUATION OF OUTCOMES
  1. Evaluation of students is based on:

1. Two 5-6 page papers, which are extended inquiries integrating class discussion and readings (40%).

2.Daily written responses to assigned readings (10%).

3.In-class participation (10%).

4.Small-group, collaborative research projects, including presentations based on themes of class (20%).

5.Participation in arts events (10%).

6.Course portfolio (10%)

B. Assessment of learning outcomes is based on:

  1. Student self-evaluation at the end of the quarter.
  2. Questionnaire to determine if stated educational outcomes were met, giving students the opportunity to describe what they learned in class, and to suggest how the course might be improved.
  3. Review of student portfolios.

CALIFORNIASTATEPOLYTECHNICUNIVERSITY, POMONA

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND INTEGRATIVE STUDIES

INTERDISCIPLINARY GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

EXPANDED COURSE OUTLINE

Course Title: Connections Seminar: Exploration and Personal Expression

Course No.:IGE 224

Date Prepared:November 10, 2007

Prepared by:Nancy Page Fernandez

I. Catalogue Description

IGE 224 Connections Seminar: Exploration and Personal Expression (4)

Research and presentation of an interdisciplinary project which extends and synthesizes themes from the IGE experience. 4 lecture discussions. Pre-requisite IGE 223.

II. Required Background or Experience

Pre-requisite IGE 223.

III. Expected Outcomes

At the completion of IGE 224 students will be able to:

  • Explain the roles and purposes of higher education;
  • Discuss the relationship between general education and their personal and professional development;
  • Generate original ideas, evaluate and organize evidence, and revise prose to produce logically and stylistically compelling analyses and arguments and understand logic and its relation to language;
  • Identify information needs and evaluate the credibility of sources;
  • Apply inductive and deductive reasoning, detect formal and informal fallacies of language and thought (including faulty assumptions and bias), and assess conflicting claims and arguments,
  • Synthesize ideas and evidence, reach well-supported factual or judgmental conclusions, advocate and express them in creative modes;
  • Meet the learning outcomes of the IGE Program, which include communication skills and critical thinking, development of historical and social consciousness, multicultural understanding, appreciation of aesthetic experiences,information literacy, and integration of knowledge and experience through active student learning.

IV. Instructional Materials

A. Required texts

Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Manual of Style. Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006.

Levine, Lawrence. The Opening of the American Mind. Boston and NY: Beacon, 1997.

B. Recommended support texts

Axelrod, Rise B. and Cooper, Charles R. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing. Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2007.

Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer. Boston and NY: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004.

Moore, Brook Noel and Parker, Richard. Critical Thinking. NY: McGraw Hill, 2005.

Seech, Zachary. Open Minds and Everyday Reasoning. NY: Wadsworth, 2004.

Williams, Joseph M. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. NY: Longman, 2006.

V. Minimum Student Materials

Assigned texts, notepaper, writing implements and access to a personal computer and printer. Option of using divergent multi-media and computer modes in the development of portfolio projects and presentations.

VI. MinimumCollege Facilities

A classroom with moveable desks and ability to access visual aids, VCR and DVD equipment, PC and projector.

VII. Course Outline

  1. Goals and purposes of higher education
  2. General education, and the integration of ones knowledge and experience
  3. Generating questions and developing a research strategy
  4. Identifying information needs; evaluating evidence and its sources
  5. Understanding arguments including identifying claims vs. propositions, facts vs values, false assumptions, deductive strategies, inductive strategies, bias, rhetorical proofs, and argument as symbolic action
  6. Developing and supporting an original position including awareness of the audience, articulating questions, contextualizing ideas within a scholarly literature and community, evidence-based reasoning, thoughtful and well-supported reflection, synthesis of diverse kinds of evidence, respect for cultural difference, engagement with moral and ethical considerations
  7. Synthesis of ideas and evidence, and modes of creative expression
  8. Editing and revision including organization, coherence, voice, stylistic variety, and correct grammar and syntax

VII. Instructional Methods

Active learning methods which require student responsibility for learning including large and small group discussion, in-class writing, and one-to-one and small group interaction.

VII. Outcomes Assessment

A. Grading of students is based on:

  • Attendance and participation (10%)
  • Written responses to assigned readings (10%)
  • Completion of multi-stage individual project (40%)
  • Creative expression of the individual project ideas (20%)
  • Participation in arts events (10%)
  • Completion of course portfolio (10%)

B. Learning outcomes assessment is based on:

  • Student self-evaluation at end of the quarter.
  • Exit interview to explore if stated educational outcomes were met, giving students the opportunity to describe what they learned in the class and to suggest how the course might be improved.
  • Review of student portfolios.